Uganda begins Ebola vaccinations

KAMPALA — Uganda says it will start to vaccinate some of its health workers against Ebola today, amid fears that the viral haemorrhagic fever could spread from Democratic Republic of Congo which is battling an outbreak.

The East African country has suffered regular outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg over the years, both high-fatality viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Parts of Uganda’s western border are about 100km from sites of an Ebola outbreak taking place in Congo.

Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said authorities would administer about 2 100 vaccinations covering so called frontline health personnel working in districts near the border.

Tens of thousands cross the border in both directions weekly for trade and family visits and other purposes, Aceng said.

Because of this the “risk of cross border transmission was assessed to be very high . . . hence the need to protect our health workers with this vaccine,” she told a news conference.

Because of the short distance from the outbreaks in Congo, Uganda has been on high alert, with heightened screenings of arriving travellers and training of health personnel in border areas.

Aceng said widespread insecurity in eastern Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces added to Uganda’s vulnerability to cross border transmission.